by Scott Craven, The Arizona Republic

by Scott Craven, The Arizona Republic

PRESCOTT, Ariz. -- From a distance, the fence seems to be woven of nothing but American flags and T-shirts, a jumble of reds and whites, blues and greens, yellows and purples.

But upon closer inspection - as it demands from the many visitors each day who walk slowly along its length, taking photos, wiping tears - the details emerge. Photos, poems and prayers speak of memories and loss.

For more than seven weeks, this is how a town has grieved.

The memorial to the 19 firefighters killed in the Yarnell Hill Fire June 30, however, is beginning to show signs of wear and tear, and officials are struggling with how to dismantle, store and perhaps later display the hundreds of items left behind.

The memorial will remain in place at Prescott's Fire Station 7 until at least the middle of September, said Pete Wertheim, communications and public-affairs manager for Prescott.

There are no immediate plans for the items, though officials from the Prescott Fire Department will oversee the dismantling and storage, and will remain in touch with the families as far as planning a permanent memorial, Wertheim said.

"At this point, the important thing is preserving the items left behind," Wertheim said. "There are no definitive plans yet beyond that. There does seem to be a desire and hopes for a permanent display."

Taking down the impromptu memorial will be a lengthy process. It covers roughly 600 feet of chain-link fencing that surrounds Station 7, home of the Granite Mountain Hotshots crew, which lost 19 of its 20 members when fire swept over them outside Yarnell.

Wertheim estimated there are more than 500 T-shirts, nearly all representing first responders from around the country. He said there are more than 100 items of firefighting equipment, including helmets, boots and tools.

Those items were built for the elements, but others, particularly pages torn from coloring books featuring firetrucks imprecisely filled in with red and yellow crayon, haven't fared as well.

As much as the city appreciates having a place where people can mourn and pay tribute to the firefighters, it is important to preserve the memorial before it noticeably deteriorates, Wertheim said.

"We had rain almost every day in July," he said. "You want to give people ample time to visit, but not at the risk of further degradation."

The memorial began in the hours following the June 30 tragedy. Nineteen roses were threaded through the chain-link around the small metal sign identifying the metal structure within as Station 7. Early the next morning, two young men hopped off the back gate of a pickup and wired a homemade "Heroes" sign to the fence. The two hopped back on and the truck was gone.

They were to be the first of dozens, then hundreds, who came to the fence to pay respects to the fallen 19. For many, visiting was not enough. They left flowers, candles and crosses. They left stuffed animals, toy firetrucks and water bottles. Soon it was too numerous to count, though it was clear each cluster of shovels or ribbons was divisible by 19.

Anna Tellez, a Prescott native visiting from California, stood across the street from the memorial on a recent summer day, trying to take it all in.

She had only seen photos and videos of the memorial, and weeks earlier made her cousin, Paul Simpson, promise to take her during her trip to see family.

"It's overwhelming," Tellez, 50, said. "To think that everything here represents someone who cared. Then you think about the families left behind. I was in tears even before I got out of the car."

Simpson, a third-generation Prescott native, said he drives by the memorial once or twice almost every day. Each time it brings up memories and a deep sense of loss.

"I went to school with some of their (the firefighters') parents," Simpson, 43, said. "I'm glad this is here for them. It shows respect, that people care. That people still care."

As Tellez and Simpson strolled along the memorial, careful to stay inside the orange cones set along the side street, they noted the dirt-spattered stuffed animals, the fading T-shirts.

As much as they liked what the memorial stood for, they did not want to see it get ruined.

"They need to put it away before it starts looking too worn," Tellez said. "Put it in a warehouse where it can be protected and people can still see it."

Three friends from Sun City strolled along the memorial, and while they had varying thoughts - sadness, despair, the hope that comes with healing - they agreed on one thing.

The memorial should be preserved, in as close to its original state as possible, and put on display.

"It's the right thing to do," said Kathy Phillips, 71. "People went out of their way to come here and leave these things. We need to make sure we respect that, and pay tribute to men who died protecting their community."

From his propane business across the street, Duane Halsey has seen the memorial evolve.

The memorial has taken on a life of its own, Halsey said.

"I never would have imagined it," he said. "Nor that people would still be coming more than a month later. Every now and then I see people, just regular people, with watering cans, making sure the plants are OK. It's become that important to a lot of folks."

As it has come to reflect the soul of Prescott, great care must be taken when it comes to preserving it, said one man with experience in such matters. Stephen Brigham's best advice? Go slowly, and with great care.

Brigham is leading the effort to establish a permanent memorial to those killed and injured when a gunman targeted former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and those waiting to see her on Jan. 8, 2011.

The day after the shooting, in which six people were killed and 13 wounded - including Giffords, who was shot in the head - Brigham arrived at work to find a growing field of flowers, signs, balloons and more on the front lawn of the University of Arizona Medical Center.

The hospital administrator watched the memorial grow over the days and weeks that followed. Many of the victims, including Giffords, were treated at the center. At one point, the memorial blocked the center's front door, requiring patients and employees to use alternative entrances.

"We realized at some point we had to take everything down," Brigham said. "But we had no idea what to do. The memorial had very deep meanings. It had to be handled as sensitively as possible."

Brigham now heads the January 8 Memorial Foundation, which is working toward finding a permanent home for the thousands of items that were carefully boxed up a month after the shootings.

Nothing was left behind. Even dead and wilting flowers had a purpose. They were turned into mulch and used on community gardens, Brigham said.

"Whether an item is in a box or on display, it is just as sacred," Brigham said. "And when we put together the permanent memorial, we have no idea what that one piece will be that will turn out to be integral, maybe a focal point."

Though establishing a permanent memorial is at least two years away, Brigham said, the foundation plans to install it in the historic Pima County Courthouse, which workers will vacate next year when a new courthouse opens. The plan is to display as many items as possible while paying tribute to the victims.

Until the Jan. 8 memorial is established, 246 boxes filled with candles and tiles and ceramic angels - if not a city's spirit - remain in a secure, air-conditioned storage space donated by Sundt Construction, Brigham said.

"While we work on it, we will always keep the victims and families in mind," Brigham said. "They are at the heart of the memorial, just as they were when people first dropped off items."

In Prescott, the plan is to preserve everything, big and small; from banners stretching as long as 10 feet to the 19 packets of flower seeds: Forget-Me-Nots.